Kemper Interviews
Thomas Kemper, top executive of the General Board of Global Ministries, interviews missionary Sarah Flores, stationed in Quito, Ecuador. (UM Insight Screenshot)
Thomas Kemper, General Secretary of Global Ministries, has been conducting short (4-7 min.) video interviews with missionaries and mission partners around the world to ask them about their experiences in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic. These interviews are interesting for several reasons: They show the variety of responses to and concerns about the pandemic in different countries and regions, but they also show the variety of types of mission work, missionaries, and mission leaders that characterize global United Methodist mission. The series currently stands at 17 videos, but more will continue to be added. The following is a list of the videos as of the time of this post.
Entire series (link will include additional videos added later)
Andrea Riley, UMW Regional Missionary for Latin America (posted 5/12/2020)
Rob Rutland-Brown, Executive Director of National Justice for Our Neighbors (posted 5/6/2020)
Revs. Alma and Richard Navarro, Global Ministries missionaries from the Philippines serving Overseas Filipino Workers in Taiwan (posted 5/4/2020)
Nyamah Dunbar, Global Ministries West Africa Area Liaison, serving in Liberia (posted 5/1/2020)
Aldrin Salvador, Deputy Director of the Manila Episcopal Area Disaster Management Office, UMCOR (posted 4/29/2020)
Dr. Issa Tarazi, Executive Director of Near East Council of Churches Department of Service to the Palestine Refugees in Gaza (posted 4/27/2020)
Dr. Godfrey Ogbu, Chief Medical Officer of Jalingo United Methodist Hospital and Health Board Coordinator in Nigeria (posted 4/24/2020)
Debbie and Dr. Lester Dornon, Global Ministries missionaries from the United States serving at Tansen Hospital in Nepal (posted 4/22/2020)
Dr. Belinda Forbes, a Global Ministries missionary from the United States serving with Acción Médica Cristiana in Nicaragua (posted 4/20/2020)
Judith Osongo Yanga, Director of Communication for the East Congo Episcopal Area (posted 4/17/2020)
Rev. Andrew Soon Lee, a Global Ministries missionary from the United States serving as country coordinator in Cambodia (posted 4/15/2020)
Sarah Walker, Global Ministries Global Mission Fellow from the United States serving with the Free Methodist Church of Spain (posted 4/13/2020)
Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton of the New York Annual Conference (posted 4/10/2020)
Hangoul Choi, Global Ministries Global Mission Fellow from South Korea serving as Refugee Work Manager with the Free Methodist Church of Greece (posted 4/8/2020)
Dr. Glenn Paraso, Executive Director/CEO of Mary Johnston hospital in The Philippines (posted 4/6/2020)
Bishop John K. Yambasu of the Sierra Leone Episcopal Area (posted 4/3/2020)
Thomas Kemper, General Secretary of Global Ministries (posted 4/1/2020)
UM & Global blogmaster Dr. David W. Scott, a United Methodist layman, serves as Director of Mission Theology at the General Board of Global Ministries. The opinions and analysis expressed here are Dr. Scott's own and do not reflect in any way the official position of Global Ministries. This post is republished with permission from UM & Global, the collaborative blog of United Methodist Professors of Mission.